In July 2025, the Greater Manchester Migrant Destitution Fund, in partnership with Equal Education Chances, held a community consultation with families experiencing destitution because of their immigration status, to understand barriers to accessing statutory support.
Key findings were:
- Barriers to accessing social services support include unawareness, fear, and gatekeeping
- People face barriers regularising status, including difficulty accessing legal advice, delays in decisions, high visa fees, and fear of the asylum system in particular.
- People also face barriers accessing healthcare because of their status
Participants wanted to see:
- Engagement from social services to raise awareness and dispel fears
- Being given the right to work by the Home Office while waiting for a decision on an application for leave to remain
- Continuation of MDF’s grants programme
- Information about the immigration system
You can read the full write up here.